The Home Secretary is widening the unduly lenient sentence scheme to a range of terror offences

By ALAIN TOLHURST

4th October 2016, 1:06 pm

Updated: 4th October 2016, 5:30 pm

EXTREMISTS like hate preacher Anjem Choudary could be locked up for longer after Amber Rudd launched a fresh crackdown on soft jail terms.

The Home Secretary will extend the unduly lenient sentences scheme, which allows the Attorney General to press for their review and possible extension, to apply to terror-related offences not currently covered.

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Home Secretary Amber Rudd delivers her keynote address on the third day of the annual Conservative Party conference

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Under Amber Rudd's new system reviled preacher Anjem Choudary could be banged up for many more years on review

The crimes include supporting banned organisations, possessing information that could be useful to a terrorist such as bomb-making instructions in an Islamic State magazine, and encouragement of terrorism.

In September, reviled preacher Choudary was jailed for five and a half years for drumming up support for IS.

But under the new system he could be banged up for many more years on review.

Ms Rudd will also announce changes to the rules on deportation allowing the Government to exclude Europeans who repeatedly commit "minor offences" for five to 10 years, rather than a 12-month re-entry ban.

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And she will make clear free movement rules will be interpreted to make it easier to deport extremists even if they are not proved to pose an imminent threat to the UK.

Ahead of her speech to the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham today, the Home Secretary said: "My priority is to keep our families, communities and country safe.

"People need to have confidence in the criminal justice system. We want to tackle those terrorism cases where judges get the sentence wrong.

"So we are extending the unduly lenient sentencing scheme to cover the majority of terrorist offences. To give you, the public, if you believe an error has been made, the right to ask the Attorney General to look again at those sentences."

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Amber Rudd told the Conservative Party Conference the Government will deport EU nationals that 'repeatedly commit so-called minor crimes'

On toughening the UK's approach to deporting criminals, Ms Rudd said: "We will make clear what our courts must take into account when considering the deportation of EU criminals, aligning their fortunes more closely with those from outside the EU.

"And going one step further, for the first time, we will deport EU nationals that repeatedly commit so-called minor crimes in this country.

"So-called minor crime is still crime - its pain is still felt deeply by victims. Now those criminals will face being banned from coming back to the country from between five and 10 years."

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